The U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0162606, corresponding to published PCT application WO2018/195437 (hereafter Reference 1) discloses that an in-dwelling strain sensor is not needed to monitor strain applied to a structural member. Instead, it discloses using an antenna spaced from a structural member without the antenna making contact therewith.
There still remains a need for a methodology and a device/system for applying a bending load to a structural member, which can be a person's extremity for example, and measuring the deflection of the extremity due to the applied load to accurately determine the stiffness thereof over time. In normal fracture healing, stiffness of the bone-hardware construct increases over time due to calcification of the fractured callus. It would be desirable to track these changes over time to monitor the progress and predict cases of delayed unions or non-union, allowing medical professionals to take appropriate action.
The present invention addresses these needs.